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Triage Nurse Initiation of Corticosteroids in Pediatric Asthma Is Associated With Improved Emergency Department Efficiency
Pediatrics, 04/13/2012
Zemek R et al. – Triage nurse initiation of oral corticosteroid before physician assessment was associated with reduced times to clinical improvement and discharge, and reduced admission rates in children presenting with moderate to severe acute asthma exacerbations.
Methods- A time-series controlled trial evaluated nurse initiation of treatment with steroids before physician assessment in children with Pediatric Respiratory Assessment Measure score >4.
- One-to-one periods (physician-initiated and nurse-initiated) were analyzed from September 2009 through May 2010.
- In both phases, triage nurses initiated bronchodilator therapy before physician assessment, per Pediatric Respiratory Assessment Measure score.
- Nurse-initiated phase children improved earlier compared to physician-initiated phase (median difference: 24 minutes; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1–50; P = .04).
- Admission was less likely if children received steroids at triage (odds ratio = 0.56; 95% CI: 0.36–0.87).
- Efficiency gains were made in time to steroid receipt (median difference: 44 minutes; 95% CI: 39–50; P < .001), time to mild status (median difference: 51 minutes; 95% CI: 17–84; P = .04), and time to discharge (median difference: 44 minutes; 95% CI: 17–68; P = .02).
